Extraordinary experts on sustainability and green building to present in Cape Town

Rachel Botsman - a social innovator, who writes, consults and speaks on the power of Social Collaboration and sharing will deliver this ground-breaking concept on 23rd October.

How to green existing buildings, designing high performance green buildings, global innovation in green design, the London Olympics Park Project, and the next social trend – collaborative consumption – just some of the compelling topics to be explored at the master classes being presented by leading thought leaders as part of the build-up to Green Building Council of South Africa (GBCSA) Convention and Exhibition.

Running for its 5th consecutive year from the 23rd – 25th October 2012, the annual convention provides an inspirational platform for world-class education, knowledge sharing and decision-maker networking around sustainability and the built environment.

The optional pre-conference education days on the 22nd and 23rd of October 2012 offer detailed master classes, discussions and workshops. This years’ impressive line-up features unrivalled and valuable opportunities to learn from some of the best local and international experts. 

Line-up of experts

Amongst the topics being presented on the 22nd of October are: “ “Leadership in Sustainability” presented by Icologie; “Greening the Inside: Commercial Interiors” presented by Michelle Ludwig and “The Business Case for Zero Net Energy Building Design” presented by international expert Jerry Yudelson, who has been dubbed “the Godfather of Green” and is acclaimed for his engaging presentations that have broad appeal among architects, engineers, contractors, developers and others in the green building, green products, green development and real estate marketplace. 

A world changing idea

Rachel Botsman - a social innovator, who writes, consults and speaks on the power of Social Collaboration and sharing will deliver this ground-breaking concept on 23rd October. 

Botsman, through her book “What's Mine is Yours: How Collaborative Consumption Is Changing The Way We Live”, has inspired a new consumer economy and movement – that of collaborative consumption which entails traditional sharing, bartering, lending, trading, renting, gifting, and swapping of all kinds of assets, from spaces to skills to cars.

(TIME Magazine recently called Collaborative Consumption one of the "10 Ideas That Will Change the World" and Botsman has been named as one of the top 20 speakers in the world to have at your conference.)

Global leader in building design

Also presenting on the 23rd of October is Dan Epstein, the head of sustainability for the London Olympics who will present on the “2012 London Olympics Park Project” (Epstein will also be embarking on a national roadshow and will be presenting in Johannesburg and Durban on the 18th and 19th of October respectively) and Jerry Yudelson, who will present once again – this time on the topic of “High Performance Building Design”.  

Another exciting international expert that will be presenting as part of the master class series on the 23rd of October is Tristram Carfrae, who will be presenting a series of case studies on “Global Innovation in Green Design”. Carfrae is considered to be a global leader in building design, with much of his work representing breakthroughs in technology and design – and always with a firm eye on sustainability.  Among his best known work has been the design of The Water Cube – Beijing’s National Aquatics Centre for the 2008 Olympics, the Helix Bridge, Singapore, the AAMI Stadium in Melbourne, 1 Shelley Street in Sydney and Kurilpa Bridge in Brisbane. He has collaborated with many of the world’s leading architects, including Renzo Piano, Richard Rogers and Philip Cox.

Other master classes scheduled for the 23rd include “Greening existing buildings” presented by Colin Devenish; “Green Star SA for Contractors” presented by Marloes Reinink; and “10400 part XA: What you need to know” presented by Howard Harris.

Don’t miss out on a unique opportunity to learn from some of the leading local and international experts in their fields.  Master Classes will be hosted at the new Pavilion, V&A Clocktower Precinct. For more information on the master classes and to book www.gbcsa-convention.org.za.